


Cravings and Apparitions

by zarabithia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Mention of Rose/Finn, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: Anakin Skywalker, one time Darth Vader, scourge of the galaxy, heir to Emperor Palpatine, and former Jedi Knight ... is standing in the middle of a Naboo street, giving Ben advice on the type of bread to buy his pregnant wife.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 14
Kudos: 162





	Cravings and Apparitions

**Author's Note:**

> [Five blossom bread](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Five_blossom_bread) comes via The Clone Wars TV show.
> 
> Canon has been examined and used for spare parts like I am a hungry scavenger on shitty planet who never wants to see sand again.

Some places are louder than others, Rey tells him. At first, he doesn't quite believe that is something that is true for him. 

Ben has heard voices all of his life; they have always been too much and too loud. So he does not quite understand how the Force can be any more present in one location than it is in another. 

That is, until they go to Naboo.

It is not Ben's idea to go to Naboo, that much is for certain. He has had enough of ghosts and a past that digs in tight and won't let go. He may no longer want to kill the past, but nor does he have a desire to relive it. Going to Naboo is not on his list anymore than going to Tatooine would be. 

But Ben is not the only one making decisions these days. The New Galactic Alliance also includes Rey, Rose, Ben, and Finn and all were willing to accept the invitation from the Senator from Naboo.

"Palpatine was a Senator from Naboo," Ben points out. 

"But so was your grandmother," Poe points out. 

Ben wants to tell him that he is not a Jedi, nor is he married to one, so he hardly gets a say in this. But Poe had loved a woman who had wielded a light saber once, and in honor of her memory, Ben doesn't argue with Poe. 

"It's supposed to be beautiful," Finn offers, because Finn doesn't argue with Ben these days as much, both because he has his own distractions and because Rey is his best friend. "Every 'trooper I ever knew used to talk about the rumors of how beautiful Naboo was." 

"It might be a good place to go," Rose says carefully. She squirms more in her chair than Rey does, and Ben supposes that the waves of Force energy from the child she is carrying makes it difficult to sit still.

He unconsciously reaches over and settles his palm on Rey's abdomen, where their own little one is full of a much quieter energy. 

"What do you want to do, Rey?" Ben asks, because that has always mattered the most to him. 

"I have heard that Naboo has _pools_ ," Rey says. "Whole bodies of water just to ... swim in." 

There's too much wistfulness to her voice, and it cuts Ben deeper than any lightsaber could dream of doing. So, of course, Ben has very little choice but to say, "Then I guess it's perfect." 

And of course, it is on Naboo that Ben learns that Rey is correct, and some places are louder than others.

* * *

The lesson occurs on the third night that they spend on Naboo. Ben awakes in the middle of the night, something that has rarely been pleasant during his life. 

But the sound that has disturbed him this time is a pleasant one. The most pleasant sound in all of the galaxy, if one is asking Ben.

"Did I wake you?" Rey asks. "Was I too loud through our bond? Sorry; I was getting the hang of that before little Skywalker came along, you know." 

Her nose wrinkles up as she offers the unnecessary apology, and for a moment, Ben felts just as he did the moment he rejoined the light side of the Force - confused, overjoyed, and nearly incapable of moving.

"Another craving?" he asks, because it has been almost four months of them now. They have tried so many foods, from the "delicacies" Uncle Lando has suggested through to the hot chocolate that Ben recalls his father and Uncle Luke loving long ago. 

None of them have worked, and the craving for a food that she can't name continues to persist with Rey. 

"Yes," she admits. "I wish I knew what it was. It feels like I could devour an entire ship full of it." 

The latter is said with guilt, and Ben knows that Rey feels guilty because she had once survived on much less. Any hint of gluttony these days makes her feel as though she is being ungrateful. 

So, of course, there is very little left to do than to remind her, "The past three days have been incredibly busy. It is not wonder both of you are so hungry. The walking, the diplomacy....the _waterfalls_."

And the mention of the waterfalls is enough to bring a smile back upon her face. She relaxes into the pillows and beams up at him. "The waterfalls were so lovely," she agreed. "And so ... _loud_." 

Ben hadn't heard anything, but the voices of the Jedi past like to talk to Rey more than to him. He prefers it that way, and if the Jedi had been nearly as wise as Uncle Luke had believed them to be ... then they must know that. 

The only two voices he ever wants in his head again are Rey and the baby. 

"I'll see what I can find you," Ben promises as he slips out of bed. "You should stay here and rest. Tomorrow is a big day." 

"For both of us," Rey agrees. "Don't be gone long." 

"I won't," he promises. 

He gives his wife one last look before he departs their chambers. On his way out, he runs into Rose and Finn. It is not a surprise, because baby Paige likes to walk as much as baby Skywalker likes to eat. 

"Another craving?" Finn asks, not without sympathy. 

"Yes. There was a food market nearby today. I'm going to see if it is still open," Ben explains. He hesitates, then offers, "If I find anything that looks promising, I can bring you back some." 

He can feel Finn's hesitation, but Rose claps him on the arm and nods. "Something sweet," she suggests. 

"I will," he promises.

* * *

He is standing in front of a woman in an elaborate golden gown, her hair twice as elaborate as anything his mother has ever worn and contemplating the types of bread she has to offer when he hears _the voice_.

It is ... similar, but not the same ... as a voice he heard in his youth. So similar in fact that his hand itches to reach for his mother's lightsaber, but he stops only when he registers exactly what the voice is saying. 

"I'd choose the five blossom bread, if I were you." 

Ben turns, and the image that greets him is a young man - one who looks younger than Ben feels - with a single scar on his face. A man with unruly brown hair, the face of his mother and his uncle's eyes stands next to Ben, bathed in the kind of light that Rey has described so well when she speaks of the Force ghosts. 

Anakin Skywalker, one time Darth Vader, scourge of the galaxy, heir to Emperor Palpatine, and former Jedi Knight ... is standing in the middle of a Naboo street, giving Ben advice on the type of bread to buy his pregnant wife. 

If there is any doubt that he was a force ghost, it disappears when the woman in front of him asks, "Is there something wrong, Sir?" 

"No," he says to her. "I just ... need a moment to decide. It's a very important decision. My wife has been craving something special for some time." 

"I bet she has," Anakin says, with a smug grin that matches that of every pilot Ben has every known. "But you have been too busy trying to find her Skywalker, Solo or Organa specialties." 

"We tried Wookie specialties, too," Ben mutters, and the woman in front of him frowns. 

He supposes that's a reasonable response to someone who is clearly having a conversation with the air. 

"The baby isn't a Wookie," Anakin says, even more smugly. "She is, however, an Amidala. Or a Naberrie. Hm. Which do you suppose ....?" He trails off, as though he himself is talking to air, and laughs after a moment. "I guess it _does_ depend on your point of view." 

Ben wonders, very briefly, which Jedi had been powerful enough to make a former Darth Vader laugh. Had it been his uncle, or had it been the man Ben had been named for? 

It feels impolite to ask. 

"Well, in any case," Anakin continues. "The point is that five blossom bread was Padmé's favorite and is something you should try." 

"Is it sweet?" Ben asks, because he needs to know if he should buy something else for Rose. 

The smugness melts away, and a bit of wistfulness replaces it. "The sweetest," he promises. 

And then, he is gone. 

The woman in front of him looks both disturbed and annoyed. 

Understandable, Ben thinks. 

"Do you have any five blossom bread?" Ben asks her. 

"Oh, yes! It was the favorite of the house of Naberrie. We always make sure to have plenty on hand," she says. 

"I'll take two loaves," Ben tells her. "Thank you." 

The bread smells familiar, in a way that it cannot be, when it is placed in his hands. 

"You're welcome. I hope your wife enjoys it," the woman tells him. "Certainly more than Wookie flavored bread, I would think."

* * *

He returns home to find Rey waiting for him. 

"I felt something," she tells him. 

"This planet is very loud," he admits, as he hands her the bread. 

She scans his face, trying to decipher what that means. "A good loud or a bad loud?" 

"A bizarre loud," he answers. "How is the bread?" 

She takes a bite, and within moments, pure joy erupts on her face. "This is it!" she exclaims. "All these months, this craving, this is exactly what I was wanting so badly!" 

"The best things are worth the wait," Ben says. 

Around a second bite of the five blossom bread, Rey readily agrees.


End file.
